SafeSplash Swim School Franchise Review (2026): Costs, Fees, Revenue Potential

• Category: Food & Beverage
• Initial Investment: $1,054,950 to $1,487,700
• Franchise Fee: $55,000
• Royalty: 6% of gross revenues for Dedicated and standard Hosted Locations; lower introductory rates apply for Conversion Locations
• Marketing / Ad Fee: 2% strategic marketing and promotions fee, with possible increase up to 3%; local advertising requirement is 2% of gross revenues
• Key additional recurring fees: Enhanced Services Fee currently 10% of gross revenues if elected; Hosted Location Fee currently 10% to 25% of gross revenues or $4,000 base rent, whichever is greater; technology-related fee references include $400 monthly estimate
• Number of locations: 91 franchised outlets at year-end 2024
• Best Fit: Owner-operator with a trained designated manager, or an operator able to install active local management

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The estimated initial investment ranges from $1,054,950 to $1,487,700 for a single territory, with $55,000 attributed to the initial franchise fee. The midpoint is roughly $1.27 million, which places this in a high-cost startup range.

The main cost drivers appear to be the physical location buildout and operating setup associated with a swim school format, along with equipment, technology, and opening capital needs. The disclosure also shows additional funds of $0 to $20,000, but that does not change the overall capital intensity implied by the full investment range.

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Key recurring fees disclosed include:

• Royalty: 6% of gross revenues for Dedicated Locations and Hosted Locations, other than Conversion Locations
• Conversion royalty schedule: 3% in year one, 4.5% in year two, 6% in year three and after
• Strategic Marketing and Promotions Fee: 2% of gross revenues, with the right to increase to 3%
• Local advertising requirement: 2% of gross revenues
• Enhanced Services Fee: currently 10% of gross revenues if the franchisee elects the Enhanced Services Model; may increase by up to two percentage points in a year
• Hosted Location Fee: currently 10% to 25% of gross revenues as set by the hosted location owner, or base rent of $4,000, whichever is greater
• Cooperative Advertising: proportional share, not to exceed 2% of gross revenues, credited toward the local advertising requirement
• Technology-related fee references: $400 monthly estimate, with other fee references appearing in the disclosure depending on system or package used

Overall, the base royalty and marketing percentages are straightforward, but the total recurring burden can rise materially if a franchisee uses the Enhanced Services Model or operates in a Hosted Location with a high revenue share.

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Yes, the FDD includes Item 19 financial performance data, but it is limited to a subset of units and should be read carefully.

For 12 Franchised Dedicated Locations operating for all 12 months of fiscal year 2024, the disclosure reports:

Gross Revenues

• Average: $1,108,226
• Median: $932,159
• Range: $715,331 to $1,995,458

Adjusted 4-WALL EBITDA

• Average: $259,531
• Median: $255,387
• Range: $109,176 to $605,226

Average expense lines as a percent of gross revenues

• Payroll - Staff: 22.9%
• Payroll - Management: 6.8%
• Occupancy: 18.8%
• Merchant and Credit Card Fees: 1.8%
• Supplies: 2.0%
• Repairs and Maintenance: 1.3%
• Insurance: 1.6%
• Other: 6.7%
• Royalties: 6.0%
• Marketing: 4.0%
• Enhanced Services: 4.6%
• Adjusted 4-WALL EBITDA: 23.4%

The spread is meaningful. Revenue ranged from about $715,000 to nearly $2.0 million, and Adjusted 4-WALL EBITDA ranged from about $109,000 to $605,000. That suggests outcomes vary substantially across the 12 reported dedicated units.

Important limits on this data:

• It covers only 12 franchised dedicated locations
• There were 16 franchised dedicated locations at year-end, and 4 were excluded because they opened in 2024
• The system had 90 franchised businesses as of December 31, 2024, but this table excludes 74 units from the reported dedicated-location sample, including hosted units and dedicated locations with the SwimLabs Technology Package
• The disclosure does not clearly establish comparable revenue or earnings figures here for the broader system
• Revenue is not profit
• Adjusted 4-WALL EBITDA is not the same as net income, owner pay, debt service coverage, taxes, or cash flow to the investor
• The disclosure does not clearly establish here whether the Item 19 figures are audited

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• Model: Primarily B2B as categorized in the disclosure
• Revenue pattern: Recurring revenue appears central, since fees are based on gross revenues and the concept is built around ongoing swim lesson operations
• Operating formats: Dedicated Locations and Hosted Locations
• Operational characteristics: Physical site operations, trained manager requirement, staffing for instruction and management, occupancy costs, payment processing, insurance, maintenance, and a notable technology/services layer

This does not read like a passive licensing model. The disclosure indicates the franchisee does not need to personally run day-to-day operations if a Designated Business Manager who has completed required training does so.

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Advantages

• Item 19 provides actual 2024 revenue and Adjusted 4-WALL EBITDA figures for 12 franchised dedicated locations
• The system had 91 franchised outlets at year-end 2024, indicating an existing operating base
• The disclosure shows both average and median figures, plus low and high results, which helps frame variability
• No franchised dedicated locations in the Item 19 sample were permanently closed during fiscal year 2024

Considerations

• Initial investment is high at $1.05 million to $1.49 million
• Reported financial performance is limited to 12 dedicated locations, not the full system
• Hosted Location economics can be materially affected by a separate hosted location fee of 10% to 25% of gross revenues or $4,000 base rent
• The Enhanced Services Model adds another major variable cost at 10% of gross revenues if selected
• Territory is non-exclusive, which can affect market protection

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This franchise may fit an operator with substantial capital, comfort managing a location-based service business, and the ability to recruit and oversee a trained designated manager and staff.

It likely does not fit someone seeking a low-cost entry point, a simple fee structure, or a passive model without active management infrastructure.

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• Franchised outlet count declined from 103 to 91 during 2024
• The initial term is 10 years, which creates a long commitment period
• Certain default triggers described in the disclosure include failure to open on time, abandonment, bankruptcy-related events, material judgments, and unauthorized disclosure of confidential information or trade secrets
• Transfer fees can be significant, including 30% of the then-current initial franchise fee for a franchise agreement transfer
• Late payment, late reporting, audit-related, and improper sales reporting fees create added compliance exposure if reporting or payment controls are weak

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SafeSplash Swim School presents a capital-intensive operating model with disclosed unit-level revenue and Adjusted 4-WALL EBITDA data for a narrow subset of dedicated locations. The main tradeoff is that buyers get some evidence of mature-unit performance, but they must weigh that against high startup costs, non-exclusive territory, and a fee structure that can become substantially heavier depending on whether the business uses hosted or enhanced-service arrangements.

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